feed the future innovation lab for small …ilssi.tamu.edu/media/1401/fy16-success-stories.pdf ·...
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FEED THE FUTURE INNOVATION LAB FOR SMALL SCALE IRRIGATION:
SUCCESS STORIES
Applications that will result in changes in practices in the field
Ethiopian Water and Land Resources Center
The Water and Land Resources Center (WLRC) is using the SWAT model to estimate the water
resources at different spatial locations in the basin. The Water and Land Resource Centre was
established in 2011 as an institution associated to Addis Ababa University. The WLRC aims to
improve the collection, processing, and dissemination of data on hydro-sedimentology,
meteorology and land management in order to help informed planning and decision making
processes. They are also using the SWAT model to estimate the soil erosion across the
subbasin. The overall objective of this project is to estimate the long term soil erosion entering
into the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). They are also running different best
management scenarios that could reduce soil erosion in the basin. The objective of such
analysis is to implement watershed management plans that will increase the useful life of
GRED. This project is sponsored by the Ethiopian government. The SWAT modeling for this
project is led by Dr. Hassen Mohammend (email: [email protected])
Abay River Basin Authority
The Abay River Basin (Upper Blue Nile River Basin) Authority staff has been using the SWAT
model for estimating water resources potential in the basin. The Abay River Basin Authority is
set up to undertake and facilitate the implementation of an Integrated Water Resource
Management (IWRM) in the basin. The staff has been in constant communication with the IDSS
team in support of their modeling effort. They are also showing interest to host the next IDSS
workshop in Ethiopia to strengthen their modeling capabilities . Habtam Achenef
([email protected]), Water Resources Specialist in the River Basin Authority, is in contact
with us to coordinate the next IDSS workshop in Ethiopia.
Awash River Basin Authority
We were informed in the Feb 2017 Ethiopian workshop that Addis Ababa University (AAU) is
subcontracted to model the Awash River Basin by the Awash River Basin Authority. The Awash
Basin is the most utilized River basin in Ethiopia. AAU prepared soil database for the SWAT
model to Awash Basin. Mr. Fitsume Teshome ([email protected]) is the person in charge
from AAU side.
Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATA)
ATA invited us to provide them presentation on capabilities of the IDSS tools and case example
applications. They are requested us if we provide them ATA tailored IDSS workshop for their
staff and stakeholders. In fact ATA is interested to apply the IDSS tools in their business
practices. For example, they are employing a consultant to estimate the groundwater potential
in the Lake Tana and Beles sub-basins. The consultant will be using 6 tools and SWAT model is
among those. We were discussing how ATA can follow the consult’s work. Mr. Yonas Mulugeta
(email address: [email protected]) requested us if we could support them in
reviewing monthly reports from the consultant. We agreed to support them in use of IDSS tools as well as other geospatial and remote sensing analysis.
Tanzania Water Partnership (TWP)
The director for the Tanzania Water Partnership (TWP), Dr. Victor Kongo (email address:
[email protected]), would like to establish regional IDSS workshop in collaboration with the
Department of Water Resources Engineering at the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM). The
head of the Water Resources Engineering Department and collaborating partner is Dr. Joel
Nobert ([email protected]). They are requesting us to provide this regional IDSS workshop.
They plan to write proposals to WATERnet or any other funding institutions to cover the
expenses for this workshop. The University of Dar es Salaam hosts regional MSc program in
Water Resources Engineering with support from WATERnet. They discuss that such regional
workshop will strengthen the MSc program at UDSM and water resources research in the region.
Universities
There are several Ph.D. and MSc students in most of Ethiopian/Tanzanian/Ghanaian
Universities who are using the IDSS tools. They are using these tools to assess the natural
resource situations in several of the basins in these countries. These tools are widely applied to
study the impact of climate change and land use change as well as assessing the impact of best management practices on soil erosion and nutrient leakage.
Advances in the transfer of modeling techniques to national users – both
institutional and students
On the profitability of irrigated fodder production: comparative evidence from smallholders in Koga irrigation scheme, Ethiopia
In the article below, Kindie Getnet used SIMETAR program as one of his analytical tools to
analyze the profitability of irrigated fodder in Koga- Ethiopia. The study aimed at simulating and
analyzing risk in order to inform smallholder farmers, extension agents, researchers and other
decision makers in agribusiness, about the potential benefits/profits of investing in irrigation of
fodder compared to traditional irrigated crops.
Kindie Getnet, Amare Haileslasseie, Yigzaw Dessalegne, Fitsum Hagos, Gebregziabher
Gebrehaweria and Berhanu Gebremedhin (2016). On the profitability of irrigated fodder
production: comparative evidence from smallholders in Koga irrigation scheme, Ethiopia. Animal Production Science. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/AN15651; Email: [email protected]
Reckoning the risks and rewards of fertilizer micro-dosing in a sub-humid farming system in
Tanzania
In the article below, Lutengano Mwinuka used the farm simulation model (FARMSIM) to
evaluate the profitability and net return of using fertilizer micro-dosing to grow maize in a Sub-
humid farming system in Tanzania. The study’s goal is to inform smallholder farmers, extension
agents, researchers and other decision makers in agribusiness, about the potential
benefits/profits of investing in fertilizer by simulating the economic risk associated with the
application of different fertilizer rates.
Lutengano Mwinuka, Khamaldin Daud Mutabazi, Jeremia Makindara & Stefan Sieber (2016)
Reckoning the risks and rewards of fertilizer micro-dosing in a sub-humid farming system in
Tanzania, African Journal of Science, Technology, Innovation and Development, 8:5-6, 497-508,
DOI: 10.1080/20421338.2016.1257537; Email: [email protected]
Research and thesis work:
Andrew Rogers ([email protected]), a lecturer in the Department of Policy, Planning and
Management at Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) will use the FARMSIM model to
conduct his research on “Economic Viability of Newly Introduced Tropical Adapted and
Improved Chicken Ecotypes at Village Level, Tanzania”. He is currently collecting the data and
setting-up the model.
Getachew Legese Feye ([email protected]) is currently pursuing his PhD in Germany at
the University of Bonn and is planning to use the farm simulation model (FARMSIM) to analyze
issues related to risk perception and food security.
Potential for using the IDSS for planning at the policy level
Kadigi Ibrahim ([email protected]) is a research assistant at Sokoine University of
Agriculture. He is planning to use the FARMSIM model in the implementation of the “Scale-N”
project (http://www.scale-n.org), a collaborative research project between Germany and
Tanzania through Sokoine University of Agriculture. The project is funded by the German
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (1,381,825 €) for 3 years (2015-2018). The main
objective of Scale-N project is to safeguard food and nutrition security for the local population
in Tanzania by supporting the development of diversified and sustainable agriculture. The
project is implemented in four villages: 2 villages from the Dodoma region and 2 villages from
the Morogoro region.
Robit youth take up irrigated farming following ILSSI interventions
The Feed the Future Innovation
Laboratory for Small-Scale Irrigation
(ILSSI) conducts field interventions in
Ethiopia, including in the West Gojam
Zone of Bahir Dar woreda at Robit
Kebele. The research project is piloting
water lifting technologies combined with
water management tools and practices.
In Robit, the farmers are testing manual
water lifting technologies, and their
preferred method is a pulley added to
shallow groundwater wells. ILSSI selects
farmers to participate in the field testing based on access to a sustainable water resource and
suitable land. The demand to participate in the project has been higher than what project has
been able to accommodate. Notably, a number of youth had been unable to join the project
because they lacked land. However, after seeing the success of the participating farmers, the
youth pursued small scale irrigation on their own initiative. The following provides a brief story
of four young farmers that obtained land from their families in order to start small scale
irrigated farms.
Gared Tibeb obtained land for the dry season from
his father without obligation to pay rent. His father
was interested in the farming proposed by his son,
so have gave him a 602 m plot to test the potential.
Gared invested in making his plot productive, such
that his father promised to increase the land size
for the next irrigation season. Gebre harvested
288kg tomato from his 60m2 piece of land. He sold
the largest portion of the harvest (248kg) to the
local market, while the remaining (40kg) was
consumed by his family. From the produce sold,
Gebre added 1981 ETB (approximate USD 90) to
his income.
Tilahun Abebe also obtained a small plot from his father. His 812 m plot produced successfully,
leading his father to expand the plot size for the next irrigation season. His mother also worked
Photo: Gared Tibeb working on his plot at initial tomato
growth stage
Photo: Flowering stage on the plot with
Tilahun Abebe’s mother
on the plot with him on agronomic and irrigation activities. Tilahun harvested 212kg, and sold
170kg to the local market, while his family
consumed the remaining 42kg. He added 1484
ETB (about USD 67) to his income.
Alene Taye obtained land from his brother.
His brother was so pleased with the tomato
production that he has also decided to
participate in irrigation in the next dry season.
Alene harvested 403kg. After selling 353kg of
harvested tomato, the remaining 50kg was
consumed by his and his brother’s families.
He earned 2821 ETB (about USD 127) from the produce sold.
Kassew Amare also obtained the land from his brother under an agreement in which he
exchanges the right to use the land in the dry season for sharing the pulley with his brother.
After the first season, his brother also decided to take up irrigated farming. Kassew harvested
254kg, sold 227kg and his family consumed the remaining 27kg. He earned 1729 ETB (about
USD 78) from the sell in the market.
As this story shows, the youth have high demand for dry season irrigated production. The youth
expressed their feelings of the possibilities that
would come with expanding their irrigated
plots. Through the interventions of ILSSI, people
in the Robit community gained interest in
adopting small scale irrigation to farm through
the dry season. The youth initiative to obtain
dry season land use access through family
linkages, suggests the potential for expanding
small scale irrigated production on family lands
that are usually only used for rainy season cropping
– the opportunity is open to produce more than
one crop per year on these lands. The story also points to the demand-driven nature of ILSSI’s
field level research, as interest for participation is beyond what a research project can support,
and interest increases each year of the field interventions. The potential for scaling small scale
irrigation technologies and practices is evident, and ILSSI is working with national partners to
document and share how to optimize technologies and practices across different areas in
Ethiopia.
Photo: Alene Taye managing his tomato plants
Photo: Kassew Amare’s plot in Robit.